Ginseng, the root of Panax ginseng C.A. Meyer, has been used as a tonic to enhance bodily functions against various ailments for hundreds of years in Far Eastern countries without apparent adverse effects. Ginsenoside Rb1, one of the most active ingredients of ginseng, has been shown to possess various pharmacological activities. Here we report that Rb1 exhibits potent neuroprotective effects against oxidative injury induced by tert- butylhydroperoxide (t-BHP). Lactate dehydrogenase (LDH) assay demonstrated that incubation with 300 μm t-BHP for 2.5 h led to a significant cell loss of cultured rat embryonic cortex-derived neural progenitor cells (NPCs) and the cell viability was pronouncedly increased by 24 h pretreatment of 10 μm Rb1. TUNEL staining further confirmed that pretreatment of Rb1 significantly reduced the cell apoptosis in t-BHP-induced oxidative injury. Real time PCR revealed that pretreatment with Rb1 activated Nrf2 pathway in cultured NPCs and led to an elevated expression of HO-1. The results of the present study demonstrate that Rb1 shows a potent anti-oxidative effect on cultured NPCs by activating Nrf2 pathway.© 2014 by the authors; licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland.